Learning to See
by TJ Dragonblade
Summary: From the prompt "Neji/Naruto: 'Because you saved me'." Takes place somewhere after Naruto's returned to Konoha and before anyone heads out toward Suna. NejiNaru.


He was returning from the mission room when he noticed it - a very distinctive chakra signature that hadn't been felt in the village for nearly three years. On impulse, and without quite realizing what he was doing until it was done, Neji altered his own path to make sure they crossed.

He rounded a corner and came upon Naruto, who was mournfully investigating his rather anemic (and..._frog_shaped, of all things) purse and ranting under his breath at the absent Jiraiya.

"Dammit, Pervy Sage, you didn't have to run me dry! Would it kill you to let me spend just a little of my own - Oh, hey, Neji!" Naruto's whole demeanor changed abruptly; the consternation vanished from his brow and he sraightened up, flashing a bright and friendly smile. "Long time no see!"

"Indeed."

"Yeah, I heard you made jounin already - way to go!"

Somehow, Naruto's simple praise felt far more meaningful than the formal congratulations he'd received from the clan elders, and Neji realized with some surprise that he'd missed Naruto's presence in the village the past three years.

He wasn't accustomed to the idea of anyone meaning enough to him that he should miss them, at least not anyone who was still living, and he found himself mentally paused over the fact that it was _Naruto_ now who inspired that feeling in him.

_iWhat is this?_

Naruto was carrying on, oblivious to Neji's private little epiphany.

"I was going for lunch, 'til I found out Pervy Sage left me broke again! I know he's training me one-on-one and all, and I shouldn't complain, but..." Naruto sighed, a huge sound full of undue drama, and his bottom lip twisted into something of a pout. "But I'm _hungry_, and I was totally looking forward to some home-town Konoha eats again, too!"

"Come on. I'll take you for ramen." Only after it was said did Neji realize it sounded somewhat like a date, however impromptu or casual.

Naruto fixed him with that narrow-squinting blank look that was one part suspicion and two parts utter confusion. "Why?"

"Because." He folded his arms stiffly, looking somewhat down his nose at Naruto and fighting the rush of heat that wanted to suffuse his face. "Would you rather ask pointless questions, or do something about the obnoxious rumbling of your stomach?"

Naruto's expression cleared a little. "Your treat?"

"Yes." Nothing at all like a proper date, he told himself fiercely. Nothing but a simple token gesture of...of...of he wasn't sure what.

"Well alright then!" Naruto clapped him heartily on the back, grinning broadly, any question of 'why' dismissed at the prospect of a full stomach that wouldn't further eviscerate his purse. "Let's eat!"

But the 'why' lingered in Neji's head while they made their way to Ichiraku, running circles around all the possible answers.

It returned time and again to one in particular, a very likely reason that at the same time carried laughably implausible implications; Neji refrained from examining it any further as they approached the counter and greeted the owner.

Once they were seated and Naruto was tucking into the savory blend of broth and noodles, however, that answer planted itself firmly at the forefront of Neji's thoughts and refused any effort to dismiss it. Naruto carried on excitedly between bites, telling stories about the things he'd done in his time away; Neji listened to him, more interested than he let on, and toyed with the drink he'd bought himself, unsettled and intrigued by what his subconscious seemed to be trying to tell him.

His pulse-rate had picked up when he'd realized that Naruto was back. He'd _wanted_ to see him again, as soon as he'd felt that flicker of familiarity.

Naruto's praise had made him warm inside, made him proud of his achievement when he hadn't regarded it as anything extraordinary before.

He realized that he owed Naruto a debt of gratitude if nothing else; he had lived in a very dark place three years ago and Naruto had been the one to shine a bit of light into that darkness. Naruto had disproven his conception of the way the world worked, had given him a faint spot of hope that the future he'd always had before him might be altered. Circumstances of blood and birth still caged him in, but Naruto's vow to change the way things were done in the Hyuuga clan felt like an opened door, a way out, even if he couldn't quite take it yet. Naruto was living proof that fate and destiny were not so absolute as he'd always believed them to be, and Neji was intrigued. He was interested.

He was, apparently, enamoured.

"And so we got kicked out of _another_ hot spring, for the fourth time in a row!" Naruto concluded vehemently, gesticulating with his chopsticks for emphasis. "I can't understand how Pervy Sage got to be so powerful when he spends all his time trying to peep at naked women, y'know?"

"Mmh." Neji gave a noncommittal tilt of his head, absently running a strand of hair between his thumb and two fingers and wondering at himself as Naruto dug into what was left of his ramen now that his story was done.

Smiling was not something Neji did with any great frequency, but he felt like smiling now every time he looked at Naruto.

He was looking at Naruto quite a lot.

Naruto was taller, after all this time away, lean and wiry and broad through the shoulders; tousled hair, lively gaze, ready grin, and Neji could acknowledge that he was undeniably..._attractive_.

Part of him wondered if he had, perhaps, been spending too much time with Hinata, to be using words like 'attractive' in describing Naruto.

But that was the very thing, really - he could _see_ it, now, could understand what drew Hinata so strongly.

Naruto blazed with an inner light, a fierce determination that shone like the sun behind the blue of his eyes. He believed in himself with an absolute certainty that was - though Neji was hesitant to admit to it - terribly appealing. Neji had mistaken it for empty bravado once upon a time, the posturing bluster of a talentless genin, and he'd been insufferably arrogant when matched up against it.

He had fallen before it in the end, brought down by his own conceit, so sure that his breeding and bloodline meant inevitable triumph over this upstart loser, so sure that the rules of fate were absolute.

Naruto scoffed at the idea of fate, declared boldly that anyone could make of themselves anything they wished; he believed it, wholeheartedly, and he had made Neji begin to believe it as well.

Did that make him the moth, then, fluttering blindly into the draw of the flame? Or the bird, newly freed from his cage, winging eagerly for the warmth of the sun?

He stared contemplatively at Naruto while the blond slurped the last of the noodles from his bowl of ramen, looking endearingly ridiculous.

He'd like to think he had more sense than the moth.

And Naruto, after all, was the one who had shown him that freedom might not be so impossible as he'd always believed.

Naruto looked up from his empty bowl, some declaration of satiation on his lips even though his eyes betrayed lingering hunger, and Neji surprised himself by interrupting.

"Do you want another?" It was not in Naruto's nature to abuse whatever generosity came his way by asking, after all.

"Really?" Naruto grinned hugely. "Hey, thanks Neji! You're totally awesome, you know that?"

"Hmph." Neji felt one corner of his mouth pull up the slightest bit, felt a pleasant warmth blooming in his chest.

And this time, despite his best efforts, the blush wouldn't quite be vanquished.

_Why?_ Naruto had asked him, and he'd simply said _Because._

He ordered a second bowl of ramen for Naruto - the boy who made him smile, who made him _want_ to smile - and silently finished the thought.

_Because you saved me._

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>Originally Posted: 1130/11


End file.
